How to Build and Print Your Own Online PDF Forms with HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and PHP

Question:

How can I implement a feature on my website that allows clients to fill out and sign a PDF form online, and then enable me to print the completed form, without relying on any external service?

Answer:

How to Create and Print Online PDF Forms Without External Services

PDF forms are a convenient way to collect information from your clients, especially if you need them to sign the document electronically. However, creating and printing online PDF forms can be challenging if you don’t want to use any external services or pay for subscriptions. In this article, we will show you how to create and print online PDF forms without external services, using only HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and PHP.

The first step is to create the PDF form that you want your clients to fill out and sign. You can use any PDF editor that supports adding form fields, such as Adobe Acrobat, Foxit Reader, or LibreOffice Draw. Alternatively, you can use an online PDF form creator, such as [Sejda], [DocFly], or [Soda PDF], which are free and easy to use.

The PDF form should have the following elements:

Text fields for entering text, such as name, email, address, etc.
Checkboxes or radio buttons for selecting options, such as yes/no, agree/disagree, etc.
Dropdowns or list fields for choosing from a list of values, such as country, state, city, etc.
Date fields for picking a date from a calendar, such as birth date, expiration date, etc.
Signature fields for capturing the client’s signature using a mouse, touchpad, or touchscreen.

You can customize the appearance and properties of each form field, such as the font, color, size, alignment, border, background, etc. You can also set the name, value, and export value of each form field, which will be used later to process the form data.

Once you have created the PDF form, save it as a PDF file and upload it to your website’s server.

Embedding the PDF Form on Your Website

The next step is to embed the PDF form on your website, so that your clients can access it and fill it out online. To do this, you need to use an HTML `` element, which allows you to display another web page within your web page. The `<iframe>` element should have the following attributes:</p> <ul> <li>`src`: the URL of the PDF form that you uploaded to your server</li> <li>`width` and `height`: the dimensions of the PDF form in pixels or percentage</li> <li>`frameborder`: whether to show a border around the PDF form or not (0 for no, 1 for yes)</li> <li>`allow`: the permissions that the PDF form needs to function properly, such as fullscreen, microphone, camera, etc.</li> <p>For example, the following HTML code will embed a PDF form with a width of 800 pixels, a height of 600 pixels, no border, and fullscreen permission:</p> <p> “`html <iframe src="https://example.com/myform.pdf" width="800" height="600" frameborder="0" allow="fullscreen">
“`

You can place the `` element anywhere on your web page, such as inside a `</p> <div>` or a `</p> <section>` element. You can also style the `<iframe>` element using CSS, such as adding margins, padding, borders, shadows, etc.</p> </ul> <h2>Processing the PDF Form Data</h2> <p>The final step is to process the PDF form data that your clients submit, and generate a printable PDF file that contains the filled-out and signed form. To do this, you need to use a server-side scripting language, such as PHP, which can handle the form data and manipulate the PDF file.</p> <p>The PHP script should perform the following tasks:</p> <ul> <li>Receive the form data from the `<iframe>` element using the `$_POST` variable</li> <li>Load the original PDF form file using a PDF library, such as [FPDF](http://www.fpdf.org/), [TCPDF](https://tcpdf.org/), or [mPDF](https://mpdf.github.io/)</li> <li>Loop through the form fields and fill them with the corresponding form data using the PDF library’s methods</li> <li>Save the modified PDF file to a temporary location on the server</li> <li>Send the modified PDF file to the browser for printing or downloading using the appropriate headers</li> <p>For example, the following PHP code will process the PDF form data and generate a printable PDF file using the FPDF library:</p> <p> “`php <?php // Receive the form data from the iframe $form_data = $_POST; // Load the original PDF form file using FPDF <p>require(‘fpdf.php’);</p> <p>$pdf = new FPDF(); $pdf->setSourceFile(‘myform.pdf’); $tpl = $pdf->importPage(1); $pdf->addPage(); $pdf->useTemplate($tpl); // Loop through the form fields and fill them with the form data </p> <p>foreach ($form_data as $name => $value) {</p> <p> // Get the form field coordinates and dimensions from the PDF template $field = $pdf->getFormField($name); $x = $field[‘x’]; $y = $field[‘y’]; $w = $field[‘w’]; $h = $field[‘h’]; // Set the font, color, and alignment for the form field $pdf->setFont(‘Arial’, ”, 12); $pdf->setTextColor(0, 0, 0); $pdf->setXY($x, $y); // Fill the form field with the form data if ($field[‘type’] == ‘text’) { // For text fields, write the text inside the field $pdf->cell($w, $h, $value, 0, 0, ‘L’); } elseif ($field[‘type’] == ‘checkbox’ || $field[‘type’] == ‘radio’) { // For checkboxes or radio buttons, check if the value matches the export value if ($value == $field[‘exportValue’]) { // If yes, draw a cross inside the field $pdf->line($x, $y, $x + $w, $y + $h); $pdf->line($x + $w, $y, $x, $y + $h); } } elseif ($field[‘type’] == ‘select’) { // For dropdowns or list fields, write the selected option inside the field $pdf->cell($w, $h, $value, 0, 0, ‘L’); } elseif ($field[‘type’] == ‘signature’) { // For signature fields, decode the base64 image data and insert it into the field $img = base64_decode($value); $pdf->image(‘@’ . $img, $x, $y, $w, $h); } } // Save the modified PDF file to a temporary location on the server $temp_file = tempnam(sys_get_temp_dir(), ‘pdf’); $pdf->output($temp_file, ‘F’); // Send the modified PDF file to the browser for printing or downloading </p> <p>header(‘Content-Type: application/pdf’);</p> <p>header(‘Content-Disposition: inline; filename=”myform-filled.pdf”‘);</p> <p>header(‘Content-Length: ‘ . filesize($temp_file));</p> <p>readfile($temp_file);</p> <p> // Delete the temporary file from the server </p> <p>unlink($temp_file);</p> <p>?><br /> “` </p> <p>You can place the PHP script on your server and link it to the `<iframe>` element using the `onsubmit` attribute, which specifies the URL of the script to run when the form is submitted. For example, the following HTML code will link the PHP script to the `<iframe>` element:</p> <p> “`html <iframe src="https://example.com/myform.pdf" width="800" height="600" frameborder="0" allow="fullscreen" onsubmit="https://example.com/process.php">
“`

Conclusion

In this article, we have shown you how to create and print online PDF forms without external services, using only HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and PHP. This method allows you to have full control over your PDF forms, without relying on any third-party services or paying for subscriptions. You can also customize the PDF forms according to your needs and preferences, and ensure the security and privacy of your data. We hope you find this article helpful and informative. If you have any questions or feedback, please feel free to contact us. Thank you for reading!

TechNsight

How to Build and Print Your Own Online PDF Forms with HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and PHP

How to Create and Print Online PDF Forms Without External Services

Embedding the PDF Form on Your Website

Conclusion

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How to Build and Print Your Own Online PDF Forms with HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and PHP

How to Create and Print Online PDF Forms Without External Services

Embedding the PDF Form on Your Website

Conclusion

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